She said: "I come here with my sisters. When I came to Congress 25 years ago, there were about 23 members of Congress who were women out of 435. Just think of that. Twelve Democrats, 11 Republicans, something like that. Today, we have over 60 House Democratic women. Very good. Not enough. We want more."

She added: "The point is if America is going to reach its fulfillment as a nation we must have further empowerment of women."

Pelosi is a controversial, polarising figure, often demonised by some Republicans as epitomising the kind of liberalism they dislike. In spite of that, she was the key to getting Barack Obama's healthcare reforms through the House.

She will need to deploy the same skills over the coming months in securing a deal on debt and spending with Republicans who control the House.

Pelosi held out hope for a compromise, suggesting that the new House, which starts in January, would be in better shape than the present one because it would have what she referred to as fewer anti-government ideologues.

There were entertaining exchanges when a young reporter asked if Pelosi, 72, had considered making way for a younger colleague. The women surrounding her began grumbling at the suggestion of ageism, particularly in relation to a woman.

Pelosi dismissed it with a light-hearted response: "Next." She asked the reporter if he would put the same question to the Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, 70.

But she went on to describe the question as "quite offensive", adding that the reporter probably did not realise it.

Theoretically, she could still be challenged for the job but this is unlikely. If she had stood down, the front-runner to replace her would be Steny Hoyer, 73.